Her Story
About Sonya
I've been a civil servant with the federal government for over 30 years, working in public health and laboratory science. As a project officer, I work in public health and violence prevention by day. But what I call my heart work is my grief coaching practice and my nonprofit, Feed My Heart, which I've been running for 4 years. I became a grief coach 5 years ago after losing my mother and father within 9 months of each other, along with 3 other people who were very close to me during that time. Going through grief therapy myself made me realize I could do this for other people. In the evenings and on weekends, I work with my grief coaching clients and focus on reaching the heart of women. I just published a grief journal workbook and I'm currently writing a book about grief and how women handle grief, particularly the grief that comes with things people don't acknowledge like losing a job, friendships, becoming an empty nester, and taking care of elderly or sick family members. I have a PhD in public health with a concentration in community health and health education, and I'm certified in the grief recovery method from the Grief Recovery Institute.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sonya
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would attribute my success to hard work and sticking with it. I'm always trying to think of new ways to do things, so staying open to whatever's innovative is important. But I think the number one thing is knowing your audience and finding your niche. If the field is in one way overcrowded, find your one thing, find your niche that nobody's covering.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The greatest piece of advice that I have received about my career is to bet on yourself. That means to always count on you, always believe that you can do it. So bet on yourself.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
For any young person who has a dream, whether they want to do nonprofit work or any other kind of work, you want to do your research and study to make yourself knowledgeable about all of the aspects of that field. But really make sure that your heart is in it. Really put your heart into what you want to do, and when it is something that feeds you, you will really absolutely do well. And one more thing I want to add: network. Networking and the value of relationships are extremely important. Take advantage of all the training courses and ways that you can gain knowledge about whatever your field is, and a lot of these things are free. If you're networking, you're able to find out about lots of other opportunities as well if you're out there surrounding yourself by the people who are doing the kind of work that you want to do.
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